Greater Manchester Politicians, Law & Social Reformers

Lord Woolton

(1883-1964)
Born Frederick James Marquis in Manchester in 1883, Lord Woolton became a celebrated British businessman, politician and government minister. He attended the Ardwick Higher Grade School and was later educated at the University of Manchester, where for a time he held a research fellowship in economics. For a time he was a teacher at his old school and later became Chancellor of the University at Manchester. Before the First World War he was a social worker, being one of the founders of the Liverpool University Settlement, of which he was the first warden. He had been awarded a peerage in 1939 for his contribution to British industry in which he had been a successfully running the John Lewis group of retail stores. Also, by 1939 he was acting as an adviser to the Secretary of State for War and also at the Ministry of Supply with Ellen Wilkinson, whom he had at one time taught at Ardwick, and whom he had inspired to go into politics.
In April 1940 Prime Minister Chamberlain appointed him Minister of Food. He was a charismatic man with great business acumen, which ensured that the Dig for Victory campaign succeeded and the British public did not starve during or after the war. Lord Woolton, the Minister of Food, urged people to be creative in their cooking with rationed food, to use more vegetables, particularly potatoes. He even had a recipe named after him, the celebrated "Lord Woolton Pie". Later Winston Churchill appointed Woolton as Minister of Reconstruction in November 1943. As a result of his role in the planning for post-war Britain he appeared on the cover of "Time Magazine" on 26 March 1945. In that year he was also appointed as Chairman of the Conservative Party, carrying out many sweeping reforms. He also served in the Tory Cabinet from 1951-1955.
In 1953-54 he was President of the Association of Lancastrians in London. After the war he was created Viscount and later Earl of Woolton and went back into industry as chairman of John Lewis Stores.
On his death in 1964 many outstanding eulogies were paid to him and his work in both Houses of Parliament.

George Osborne MP

(Born 1971)
Born Gideon Oliver Osborne on 23 May 1971 in Paddington, London, and a prominent politician and MP,
He has been the Member of Parliament for Tatton in Cheshire since 2001. Osborne is part of the old Anglo-Irish aristocracy, traditionally known in Ireland as "the Ascendancy". He is the heir to the Osborne baronetcy (of Ballentaylor, in County Tipperary, and Ballylemon, in County Waterford). He is the eldest son of four children. His father, Sir Peter Osborne, 17th Baronet, co-founded the firm of fabric and wallpapers designers, Osborne & Little. His mother is Felicity Alexandra Loxton-Peacock, the daughter of artist Lady Clarisse Loxton Peacock. Originally named Gideon Oliver, he changed his name to George when he was just 13 years of age - a self-confessed 'act of rebellion'.
He was educated at two independent schools in west London - at Norland Place School in Holland Park and St Paul's School in Barnes, and then at Magdalen College, Oxford where he read Modern History and in which he has a Master of Arts degree On leaving university he began a political career, first as a Conservative researcher, and then an MP.
In September 2004, Osborne was appointed to the Shadow Cabinet as Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury. Latterly, he was appointed Chancellor of the Exchequer in May 2010, serving under leader and Prime Minister David Cameron in the coalition government formed between the Conservative and Liberal Democrat parties as a result of the hung parliament.

Andrew Stunell MP, OBE

(Born 1942)
Robert Andrew Stunell, known OBE was born on the 24 November 1942 in Sutton, Surrey and educated at Surbiton County Grammar School for Boys, moved to Thames Ditton as Esher County Grammar School with the former buildings becoming Hollyfield School, then became Esher College in 1977. He then studied Architecture at University of Manchester and Liverpool Polytechnic. He became a member of Royal Institute of British Architects in 1969. After graduation he was an architectural assistant until 1989, working for CWS Manchester from 1965- and in Runcorn New Town from 1967-81. He was first elected as the Liberal Democrat Member of Parliament for Hazel Grove 1997.
In 2003 Stunell came top in the regular ballot of Private Members' Bills and was successful in having his Sustainable and Secure Buildings Bill become an Act of Parliament in 2004. As part of the bill Stunell wanted to see all new and existing homes either built or renovated with security and energy saving features. Following the formation of the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition, Stunell was appointed a Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for Communities and Local Government under Secretary of State Eric Pickles. His responsibilities in the role were community cohesion, race equality, building regulations and the implementation of Prime Minister David Cameron's so-called "Big Society" particularly with regard to housing and regeneration.
Andrew lives with his wife Gillian in Romiley,within his own constituency. He is a former Baptist lay preacher and he and his wife remain active members of Romiley Methodist Church. Having worked on aid projects overseas as a student, Andrew has a long-standing interest in Third World issues.

Dr Michael Winstanley MP, Bart

(1918-1993)
Michael Platt Winstanley, Baron Winstanley, was born on 27 August 1918 and was to become the Liberal Member of Parliament for Cheadle from 1966 to 1970, and after boundary changes in October 1974, MP for the Hazel Grove. He was educated at Manchester Grammar School and the University of Manchester, where he was president of the University Union and captain of cricket. He graduated in medicine and served in the RAMC before becoming a GP in Urmston as well as a noted media personality, as a television and radio doctor in the 1960s, and hosting Granada TV's 'This Is Your Right' consumer advice show in the 1970s.
He was made a life peer with the title Baron Winstanley of Urmston in Greater Manchester on 23 January 1976 during Harold Wilson's second term as Prime Minister. Michael Winstanley died on 18 July 1993.

Phil Woolas MP

(Born 1959)
Philip James Woolas was born in Scunthorpe, Linconshire on the 11 December 1959, and was to become a leading Labour Party politician and Member of Parliament for the Oldham East and Saddleworth constituency from 1997 to 2010.
As a schoolboy he had attended Nelson Grammar School (later it became Pendle Vale College). He went on to Nelson and Colne College before studying and receiving a BA in Philosophy at the University of Manchester.
His first parliamentary seat was for the Labour Party in the 1997 general election. In 1999 Woolas became parliamentary private secretary to Lord Macdonald of Tradeston, a Transport Minister, and became a whip in 2001. In 2003 he was made Deputy Leader of the House of Commons, and in 2005 became Minister of State with responsibility for local government, later moving to the newly-created Department for Communities and Local Government with the same responsibilities.
In June 2007 he became Minister for the Environment at the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. He had responsibility for climate change, energy and sustainable development. Later, as Minister of State for Borders and Immigration at the Home Office, as well as being the Minister of State for the Treasury.
On 5 November 2010, he was found to have breached the Representation of the People Act 1983 in the course of the 2010 general election. As a result his victory at the 2010 general election has been declared void, he lost his seat in the House of Commons, and was barred from holding public office for 3 years. Deputy Leader of the Labour Party, Harriet Harman, announced that Woolas had also been suspended from the Labour Party. Woolas immediately launched a lengthy appeal but in the event lost the appeal and the suspension was upheld.